Friendly Fumes
by kjt1
Summary: Sara is forced out of her apartment by roaches and has to move in with Nick, but only until another offer comes along. GSR. Complete.
1. Part 1

Title: Friendly Fumes

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: CSI is not mine and never will be, I'm not that lucky :-(

Spoilers: Through Season 4, but before 'Bloodlines'

Notes: This was meant to be a short fic of around 10 pages, but it got away from me and ended up as 30. ::sigh:: I have no control anymore.

Part 1 of 3

---

"You should ask Catherine."

"No."

"Sara –"

"No, Nick, the last thing I'm gonna do is move in with Catherine for a few days."

Unwittingly, the two CSIs entered a staring contest and it was a few moments before Nick relented with a grin. "Hey, it's not that I'm not offering, 'cause believe me I am, it's just that I figured you'd be more comfortable staying with Catherine."

"I wouldn't feel right asking Catherine," shrugged Sara. "It's not that we're not friendly but… well, you know how we are." Nick nodded. "And anyway, she has Lindsey."

"So?"

"Anyway, somewhere in all this, I do believe you offered me a place to stay, Nick," she smiled.

"Sure, you always got a bed at my place," he drawled. "When do you need it?"

"Tomorrow?"

"No problem."

"It might be for about a week though, the whole block has to be fumigated and, since the walls are paper thin, they've said it could take a while for the fumes to die down."

"As long as you don't expect me to eat vegetarian crap for a whole week, it's no problem," he said, causing Sara to laugh and swat his shoulder.

---

Sara couldn't believe how tired she was as Nick let them into his apartment. More often than not, she existed on only a couple of hours sleep a night and she was used to it, not requiring more. However, the last few weeks of tough cases had taken their toll and having to move out of her apartment was draining her energy more quickly.

They had driven their own vehicles to the apartment, in case one of them got called in before shift and, due to the hectic night, they hadn't had much chance to discuss the living arrangements. As soon as Sara had dropped her bag in the living room, Nick lifted it up again and carried it to his bedroom.

"What are you doing?" asked Sara as she followed him.

"Putting your bag in your room," he answered in a 'well duh' tone.

"I'm not taking your room, Nick."

"Huh?"

"You're already doing me a _huge_ favor by letting me stay here, you're not gonna give up your bed for me as well."

"Well, we could share," he suggested, waggling his eyebrows. Sara laughed. "Yeah, maybe not," he grinned. "Seriously though, Sara, take my room, I'll take the couch."

"No, and if you insist on making me, then I'll find somewhere else to stay," she said firmly.

Nick shook his head in surrender and retrieved her bag from the bed, carrying it back into the living room.

---

It should have been silent. They'd been in Nick's apartment for nearly two hours and it should have been silent, but it wasn't.

"Haha, take that, Greggo," yelled Nick enthusiastically.

Sara stifled a groan. She knew Nick was into computer games and it was something she didn't have a problem with, except when he was playing them in what was effectively her bedroom. She guessed that he didn't keep his computer in his bedroom because there was more space in the living room, and it was closer to the fridge for beer replenishment. But, he didn't need beer replenishment early in the morning; right now he was drinking coffee to stay awake. Sara had learned that Nick and Greg were playing against each other via the Internet. He'd done the decent thing and worn headphones, but his jubilant yells of triumph every so often, or his cussing when defeated by Greg, rendered the headphones useless to keep the peace.

She couldn't believe she had automatically assumed that Nick's end of shift routine would be the same as hers. She always went home, had a quick shower, dried her hair and crashed into bed to get a couple of hours sleep. After that, she would wake up, eat some food, shower, dress and head into work early… very early. Nick, on the other hand, would get home, make something to eat and then compete against Greg. He told her that the games never lasted more than two hours before he went to bed, but he didn't realize that those two hours were Sara's usual sleeping time.

Having already showered and changed into pajamas, there was nothing left for Sara to do except sit and wait for Nick to finish his game. She had arranged the bedding he'd given her and was curled up on the couch with the duvet over her. Her book was lying on the floor beside her; she had given up trying to read when Nick's yells kept interrupting her concentration. She was being as quiet as possible – which she knew was crazy since he was wearing headphones and was concentrating so intensely on the game that he probably didn't even remember she was there – but she was being quiet purposefully, because she didn't want him to realize she was there and turn off the game to be nice; she didn't want him to change his habits just for her.

Although she didn't know how, Sara sensed when Nick was about to finish his game and she quickly picked up her book again and pushed the duvet down to her feet, so that she appeared totally relaxed and not as if she was desperate to get some sleep. Nick switched off the computer, removed his headphones and turned to face her.

"Did you win?" she asked with a smile.

"I'm win_ning_," he replied, "it's an ongoing game and strategically, I'm kicking his ass." Sara laughed at his enthusiasm and Nick shot her a grin. "You sure you don't want anything to eat, Sara?" he asked. "I'm gonna make myself something else before I crash anyway, so I can fix you something."

"No, I'm fine, but thanks, Nick."

"Okay. Well, I'm gonna eat and catch some zzs. I'll see ya later," he smiled.

"Yeah, okay."

---

"Hey, you look exhausted. Did Nick show you too much of a good time this morning?" asked Warrick as he found Sara half-asleep in the break room.

"No, he showed himself too much of a good time," she muttered in reply, causing Warrick's eyebrows to raise at her words. "He was playing some computer game with Greg over the internet for a couple of hours," she explained. Warrick was still confused as to why that was a problem, so she added, "His computer is in the living room, where the couch is, which is, you know, my bed."

"He's making you sleep on the couch? Man, no wonder he can never keep a girlfriend if he doesn't even show good manners with his friends," laughed Warrick.

"He offered me his bed," she smiled, "but I said I'd take the couch."

"Did you tell him you wanted to sleep?"

Sara shook her head and explained her reasons for keeping quiet. Warrick told her she should tell Nick so that he didn't do it again, but she refused, saying that Nick was doing her a favor and she wasn't going to complain.

"You know, I think Nick and Greg play that game every day, it's some kind of war simulation thing," said Warrick, eliciting a groan from Sara as she sunk her head into her hands. "Listen, I'd offer you a bed at my place, but I kinda have a guest right now."

Sara's head shot up. "Warrick, are you holding out on us? You know that the rest of us live vicariously through your love life, you gotta tell us these things," she smiled.

He shook his head. "A gentleman doesn't tell and, unlike my couch offering buddy, Nick, _I_ am a gentleman."

---

"How'd it go this morning, Sara?"

"Oh, hey, Warrick", said Sara as she met his gaze. She was sitting in the break room studying a journal, with just over an hour to go until the end of shift. "If you mean was Nick still playing his computer then, yes, he was," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Why don't you just tell him?"

"I'm okay, Warrick. You know me, I don't sleep, I actually function better without it."

"Yeah, normally I'd agree, but you look worn out, Sara. Look, I'll talk to Nick, though I can't believe he doesn't see how tired you are."

"No, Warrick, just leave it," she said seriously. "Nick is perfectly entitled to do what he likes in his own apartment."

"Okay, but if you want me to talk to him, I will."

"Thanks," she smiled.

---

On the third day, Sara had planned to follow Nick home again, but when she overheard him talking to Greg about kicking his 'cyber butt' as soon as he got home, she decided to go with another option – pulling a double shift; she just couldn't handle yet another day of no sleep, but she still wouldn't talk to Nick about it as she knew he'd feel guilty. She wished she'd talked to him at the start, as now he would feel ten times worse because she'd already lost two days sleep. Nick easily bought her excuse and headed home, telling her to just press the buzzer when she arrived and he'd let her in. She knew it was crazy staying at work because she couldn't sleep at Nick's – the end result was the same, no sleep. However, she felt being at work was the lesser of the two evils. She ensconced herself in the layout room after the team left, but she didn't actually have too much to do; her major cases were all wrapped up and everything else could wait.

"Sara, what are you doing here?" asked Grissom, startling her and causing her head to shoot up to look at him.

"Working," she smirked.

"On what?"

"Uh… work." She grinned at him, but the look on Grissom's face soon wiped her grin and she gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm just finishing off a few things," she lied.

"You're not working on anything that can't wait, why don't you go home?" he urged gently.

"I would if I had a home to go to," she muttered, hoping he wouldn't hear her comment, but he did.

"What do you mean?"

She knew she couldn't lie to him, so she took a deep breath and met his gaze. "My apartment is being fumigated, so I can't stay there for about a week."

"Fumigated?"

"Yeah, the whole block has an infestation of your little roach friends." Grissom's eyebrows rose. "Don't worry," she laughed, "I'm sure none of them are of racing pedigree, so they won't be a huge loss."

"You've had to move out of your apartment and your solution is to stay here?" he asked with a frown.

"No, I uh… I was staying with Nick."

"Was? Past tense?"

"Yeah, I wasn't able to get much sleep there due to his computer game competition with Greg," she explained.

Grissom asked why she hadn't talked to Nick about it and she gave him the same reasons she'd told Warrick. He shook his head, but could tell it wasn't worth arguing with her about, as her mind was made up.

"You can't stay here, Sara. For one thing, you don't have enough work to keep you busy and, even if you did, you can't claim overtime for it."

"I don't want overtime," she interrupted.

"And for another thing," he continued as if she hadn't spoken, "how's it going to look to dayshift when they find you walking around like a zombie through lack of sleep."

"I'll survive."

"I guess I need to requisition a new couch for my office in next month's budget, to cover situations such as this," he smiled, causing Sara to chuckle. She didn't move other than to tidy up some of the evidence she'd been studying and Grissom let out a sigh. "Alright, come on," he said.

"Huh?"

"You can't stay here, so I suppose I'll need to find somewhere for you to go," he explained as if he was being faced with the biggest chore in the world.

"Grissom, I'm fine."

"Get your stuff," he said firmly, stalking out of the room and giving her no option but to follow – he was the boss and he'd essentially ordered her to leave work.

---

Sara was still shaking her head in shock as she parked her car near Grissom's and followed him into his home. She had finally caught up with him in the lab parking lot and he'd told her to follow him home. Her shock at his statement was evident, but he just gave her a look that brooked no opposition and she'd mutely nodded her head.

She considered it great foresight that she'd taken her bag from Nick's when she left the previous evening. She had told him that she was going to have to do some laundry, so he hadn't questioned her motives and she now carried the bag into Grissom's and stood with it over her shoulder, waiting for him to say something.

Grissom had disappeared as soon as they'd entered and, minutes later, he still hadn't re-appeared. Sara stood nervously and waited for him, far too tense to even attempt to make herself at home. Her eyes roamed around the room, taking in everything she'd missed on her one previous visit. She was so engrossed in studying one of his butterfly collections that she didn't notice Grissom had returned until she felt him lift her bag from her shoulder.

"It's okay, I got it," she said, taking the bag back.

"I'll show you your room then."

She followed him into the guest room and he motioned for her to drop her bag, which she did.

"Just make yourself at home," said Grissom. "Uh, do you want anything to eat?"

"Would you mind if I just went to sleep?" she asked hesitantly. "It's just, I usually just crash for a couple of hours after I get home and then eat later."

"I do exactly the same thing," he told her with a smile. "Do you need anything? Oh, the bathroom is down the hall, second door on the right. There are towels in there, but I don't have a spare toothbrush or anything."

"That's okay, I have all my stuff with me; Nick just thinks I always take a toothbrush, etc. to work," she grinned.

Reflecting later, she considered that she must have tempted fate by mentioning Nick's name because, as soon as she had, her cellphone rang.

Glancing at the caller id display, she muttered, "Oh, crap," earning a look from Grissom. "It's Nick," she informed him, "he must be checking when I'm gonna get to his place."

She was just about to press the 'receive' button to take the call when Grissom removed the phone from her hands.

"Grissom," he said into the phone as he answered the call.

"_Grissom_?" came Nick's surprised voice. "Uh, it's Nick. Sorry, I must have misdialed, I'm trying to reach Sara."

"This is Sara's phone, Nick."

"Oh. Is uh… is she there?"

"She's not available at the moment, Nick," replied Grissom, shooting Sara a look as he heard her gasp. "Can I help?"

"Uh, no, I was just wondering when she's coming ho-- I mean, uh, is she gonna be there a while?"

Looking at Sara, Grissom replied, "I think Sara will be here until the start of the next shift, Nick. Can I take a message?"

"No, it's okay. Just tell her I'll see her at start of shift."

"Okay. Bye, Nick," said Grissom, ending the call and tossing the phone to a stunned Sara.

"You just lied to him," she accused with a grin.

"No, I didn't."

"You did. You told him I was gonna be working right through."

"No, I told him you'd be _here_ until next shift, Nick just assumed that we were both still at work."

"If you ever get tired of being a CSI, you should become a lawyer, Grissom," she laughed.

Feeling a little edgy all of a sudden, he took them back to their earlier conversation. "You don't need anything then?" he asked.

"Umm, could I get a glass of water?" He nodded and started to leave when she suddenly said, "Uh, I don't have a robe or anything, just so you know." At his blank look, she added, "In case we meet in the hall on the way to the bathroom or something." She could feel herself blushing and silently kicked herself for over-talking again.

"Help yourself to water, glasses are in the cabinet next to the sink," he said as he left the room. "Oh, and Sara?" he continued, turning to face her once more. "Get at least five hours sleep, alright, you need it."

She nodded weakly as she followed him out of the room. She headed to the kitchen while Grissom veered off to his bedroom. Returning to her room with a glass of water, Sara gasped as her eyes fell on something that was now lying on her bed; it was Grissom's robe.

---

Amazingly, Sara did sleep for five hours and, emerging from the bathroom fully dressed, she found Grissom in the living room.

"Did you sleep alright?" he asked, searching her face to assure himself that she looked rested.

"Yeah, I even did as I was told and actually got five hours," she said with a proud smile. "Hey, how come there are no bugs in the guest room?" she asked as she moved to sit in a chair near the end of the couch where Grissom was sitting.

"Excuse me?" he queried, peering over the rim of his glasses at her. "Are you implying there are bugs _elsewhere_ in my home? You're the one with the roach infestation, are you not?"

"You know what I mean!" she laughed. "You have butterfly and bug displays everywhere else; I uh… I noticed the ones in your bedroom as I passed on the way to the bathroom, but you don't have any in the guest room."

"I don't spend any time in the guest room," he explained. "Why put something I want to look at in a place I won't see it?"

"Good point," she conceded, smiling at him.

"Would you like something to eat?" he asked, getting up and walking to the kitchen. "I have a vegetarian pizza in the freezer. Is that too heavy for you when you just woke up?"

"No, it sounds good. Thanks. I always have my main meal when I wake up, I'm weird like that."

"Me too," he smiled. "I also have some salad and cheese, as well as bread if you want to make yourself sandwiches to take to work."

"Yeah? That'd be great. Nick didn't have anything in and I didn't have a chance to buy anything to put in his fridge, so I've had to make do with junk food for the last couple of days."

"Help yourself," he said, motioning to the fridge as he removed the pizza from the freezer and set it on the counter while waiting for the oven to reach temperature.

"Do you want me to make you something?" He looked at her blankly. "If I'm making sandwiches for myself, I can make some for you while I'm at it," she said.

"Yes, thanks. There should be enough for both of us, so just make me whatever you're having." She nodded and started removing various items from the fridge. "I'm just going to check my email, I'll be back in a minute to put the pizza in."

"It's okay, I got it," she smiled. "I'll call you when it's ready."

"Thanks," he nodded and walked towards his study.

---

They ate in relative silence, both studying forensic journals and only talking when there was an article they wanted to discuss with each other. As soon as they were finished eating, Sara packed her bag and asked Grissom where she should put the bed sheets once she'd stripped the bed.

"Just leave them," he told her, prompting a curious look. "I'll attend to them later, when I'm doing my own."

"Oh, okay," she shrugged. "I'm gonna head into work, if that's okay."

"It's still early, Sara," he said softly.

"I know, but I need to be there before Nick or he'll get suspicious."

"You can always tell him you went out to eat, which is technically true," he commented, nodding his head towards the discarded dishes in the kitchen.

"Geez, Grissom, it's scary that you can think of plausible excuses like that," she laughed. In reply, he winked at her, stunning her into silence. When she finally regained the power of speech, she looked at him seriously. "Thanks for letting me stay here, Grissom, I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," he responded, but his tone held no emotion whatsoever, leaving Sara thoroughly confused.

"Well, I uh, I'm gonna go to work. I guess I'll see you there."

"Yes. Bye, Sara," he said, watching as she left, but not bothering to open the door for her, instead letting her see herself out.

---

"Thanks again, Nick, I really appreciate you letting me stay," said Sara as she filled Nick in on the fact that she would no longer be staying with him.

"No problem, Sara, any time," he smiled as he left the room to start work on his case.

Grissom overheard the tail-end of their conversation as he strode into the break room to pour himself a cup of coffee. Still facing the wall, he arched an eyebrow as he heard Sara puff out a sigh as she watched Nick's retreating back.

"You okay?" he asked as he turned to look at her.

"I'm fine," she said too quickly and he cocked his head to the side. "Really," she insisted. "Some of my samples are back, I'll be in Trace," she informed him as she walked past him.

---

"Sara, what are you still doing here? I thought you would be out of here early for once this morning, desperate to get back to your apartment and straighten it out," said Grissom when he found Sara still in the break room an hour after shift had ended.

She looked up at him with a deer-in-the-headlights expression and his curiosity rose. His gaze fell to the book on the table and she snapped it shut, but her finger was marking a page.

"The phone book?" he queried, stepping towards her and stopping on the opposite side of the table. Before she had a chance to react, flipped the book open to where her finger had been. "Motels? Sara, what's going on?" he asked seriously.

"Nothing," she lied.

"Sara." He pinned her with a glare and she shrugged. "Sara," he repeated, more firmly.

"I'm just looking for a place to stay the rest of the week."

"Your apartment isn't ready yet?" She shook her head and he looked at her in confusion. "So, why did you tell Nick it was?"

"I didn't."

"Sara, I heard you earlier."

"Well, you must have misheard, because I didn't tell him I was moving back into my apartment." He arched his eyebrows and she added with a grin, "I took a page out of your book."

"What does _that_ mean?" he inquired.

"I told him I didn't need to stay with him any longer, it's not my fault if he automatically assumed that my apartment was ready."

He didn't look convinced and Sara explained that she had overheard yet another computer game wager being made between Nick and Greg and she couldn't bear to go back to Nick's as she felt she may end up saying something that would cause problems in their friendship.

"And now you're planning to stay in a _motel_?"

"You know how much I earn, Grissom, there would need to be one hell of a deal to allow me to stay in a Vegas _hotel_ for a few nights."

"So you plan to stay in a _motel_?" he said incredulously. "Sara, you can't do that."

"Yes, I can."

"Sara."

"Grissom, I'll be fine. I might stop by a camping store and buy myself a sleeping bag first, so that I don't have to sleep on their sheets, but I'll make do."

"You are _not_ staying in a motel," he said resolutely and Sara gave him a challenging look. "Sara, I don't want the next case I investigate to be the murder of a female CSI found dead in a seedy motel room."

"Stop being so dramatic," she chastised.

"I suppose you'll have to come home with me again then," he muttered sharply.

"Grissom, I didn't exp—"

"I know," he interrupted, "but you're not staying in a motel. Get your things and follow me home."

His orders given, he stalked out of the room, not waiting for Sara.

---

TBC


	2. Part 2

Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

Thank you very much for the reviews so far, they are always appreciated.

Part 2 of 4

---

Sara arrived a few minutes after Grissom and he let her in with merely a grunt in greeting. Her confidence levels were waning by the moment and she looked at him closely, not bothering to drop her bag.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm just going to book into a motel", she said quietly.

"Sara, we've been through this."

"Funny, I don't remember being a part of that conversation," she mumbled. To him she said, "I think it would be easier."

"It's your choice, Sara, but the offer's there," he said with a hint of hurt.

"You're sure you don't mind?" she asked, starting to relent when she heard his tone.

"If I minded, you wouldn't be here," he said bluntly before turning and walking away. "I'm going to bed, just help yourself to whatever you need."

---

"Grissom," he grunted into his cellphone after grabbing it from his nightstand and stabbing the button to silence the persistent ringing.

"Gil, it's Conrad Ecklie. I need you to work a case."

"You do?" queried Grissom doubtfully; Conrad Ecklie _never_ called him in on a case, that was like admitting he couldn't handle something. "What's happened?" he asked, wondering if there had been an 'all hands on deck' incident in the couple of hours that he'd been asleep.

"Body found out on waste ground by the Las Vegas Hilton, near the new monorail link; it's covered in bugs, no real clue as to what happened, we need a timeline."

Grissom sighed into the phone, partly feeling smug that Ecklie was having to ask for his help, but also annoyed that he was being called in, particularly when he had a house guest. That brought his mind to Sara and he said, "I want one of my team with me."

"My team is here, use one of them," replied Ecklie.

"No, my team know how I work, I want one of them with me if you want my help," said Grissom firmly.

"I really don't see the need, but whatever you want, just get over here."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

He knew immediately who he would call in to help him – Sara. The only question in his mind was how he was going to waken her. Knocking on her bedroom door would probably make her tell him to come in, bringing him face-to-face with a likely pajama clad Sara. That thought worried him more than he cared to admit, so he considered alternative methods, running through a few before settling on one.

---

Sara awoke with a start as she heard her cellphone beeping at her. She stretched out an arm and snatched it from the nightstand, bringing it to her face and pressing the button to bring up the text message in an illuminated display.

"What the hell?" she muttered to herself as the message sender was identified as Grissom. Shaking her head in confusion she pressed the button again to read the message.

_I'm being called in and I need to call you in with me. Be ready in 10 mins._

Her confusion wasn't lifted and she leaned over to snap on the bedside lamp. Re-reading the message, she shook her head once more and dragged herself out of bed. She donned Grissom's robe and headed for the bathroom to grab a quick shower.

---

By sending the text message, Grissom had hoped to avoid seeing Sara until she was dressed. However, for once he hadn't considered all the possible outcomes of his actions. He had showered and dressed before sending the message and had then busied himself in the kitchen making sandwiches for them to take with them. Walking back to his bedroom to collect his briefcase, he discovered one of the consequences of not thinking through the message sending; Sara emerged from the bathroom in front of him, dressed only in a robe – his robe – and clutching her pajamas, indicating that she was naked beneath the covering.

His breath hitched and he swallowed hard, eyes automatically shifting to take in Sara's lithe form wearing his robe. He finally met her gaze and noticed a slight coloring in her cheeks, giving him an absurd pleasure to know that she was blushing.

"I uh… I'll be ready in a couple of minutes," she said with a slightly shaky voice.

"Okay." He walked past her, carefully avoiding brushing against her, but was stopped by her voice.

"Why did you send me a text message, why not just knock on my door?"

He considered not answering, but knew she would press the issue.

"I just thought it was easier."

"Easier how?"

"I didn't want you to be startled by a knock on the door," he lied.

"So you thought you'd try to give me a heart attack by making my phone beep instead?"

"I'm sorry," he said softly before resuming his trek to his room.

---

Her surprise was evident when Grissom said they would both travel in his SUV, as she knew Dayshift would have a field day speculating on why they were arriving in the same vehicle when they'd been called in from home and wouldn't have had time to go via the lab. He parked next to Ecklie's truck and retrieved Sara's field kit from his trunk as he removed his own. Handing her the kit, they walked in unison to the scene, immediately garnering Ecklie's attention.

"Gil, glad you could make it… eventually," greeted Ecklie snidely, pointedly glancing at his watch.

"I had to wait for Sara," said Grissom easily. Sara dipped her head to hide her blush, knowing that Ecklie has no idea Grissom was referring to waiting for her to shower and dress in his home, rather than waiting outside her apartment for her.

"Yet another reason why you should have let one of my team work with you," commented Ecklie, walking towards the victim.

"Sara has been studying entomology, this will be good experience," replied Grissom.

Ecklie explained the circumstances of how the body was found and what they had discovered so far. "Remember, Gil, you're here purely for the timeline, the rest of the case is mine," he warned.

Grissom did not respond as he knelt down beside the body, motioning for Sara to join him. He eventually said, "I'll let you know when I have my results," and effectively dismissed the Dayshift Supervisor.

---

It was only an hour before the start of nightshift when Grissom finally finished his work. He had explained the whole process to Sara and was pleased to find her listening carefully to everything he said and asking questions, which proved she was interested and not just going along with him for the sake of it. It would be another couple of days before the timeline regression could be completed, but they had done enough for the moment, now they just had to wait.

Twenty minutes before shift, Sara launched herself into a chair in the break room, picking up a journal and idly flicking through it just for something to do.

"Tired?" asked Grissom as he entered and poured them both some coffee.

"Yeah, but not enough to sleep," she said defensively.

Any comment he was about to make was prevented by the arrival of Nick, with Warrick only a couple of minutes behind him. They were soon joined by Catherine and Grissom disappeared for a few moments, returning with the assignment slips. By the time he got back, Sara had already filled in the others on her early call-out and they were all chuckling about how annoyed Ecklie must have been at having to call on Grissom's expertise.

"Assignment slips," said Grissom, drawing their attention to him. "Catherine, Nick, DB in Henderson. If anything else comes in, one of you can take it, sort it out between you. Warrick, you have a B&E just off Tropicana." Sara looked at him curiously, waiting for her assignment, but none was forthcoming and she had to settle for his next words. "I think it'll be a quiet night and, since Sara and I both got called in, we'll both take the night off." He cast his gaze to her, waiting for her objection, silently challenging her to argue with him. The others waited to hear her protest as well, but she stayed quiet.

Sara was mulling things over in her mind. She couldn't quite understand what Grissom was doing. Giving himself the night off was one thing – although it was something she never expected him to do – and giving her the night off wasn't totally unexpected, as she'd admitted that, for once, she was tired, but for him to give her the night off when she had nowhere to go but to _his_ home, was beyond her belief.

"Sara, since I gave you a ride to the scene this morning, I believe you'll need a lift home," he said suddenly. Her head shot up and she looked at him in amazement, wondering why he'd openly admitted to the rest of the team that they had traveled to work together. She then realized that he wasn't admitting anything, he was leaving them to assume what they wanted without him confirming or denying anything, which she had learned was his way of concealing things when he felt the need. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, bringing her out of her musings.

"Yeah," she replied, standing up and following him out of the room after bidding her co-workers goodbye.

---

"We'll need to get some food, Sara," said Grissom as they drove towards his apartment, "it's hours since we ate those sandwiches. I don't have much left in the refrigerator, so is take-out okay?"

"Sure," she smiled.

"There's a good Chinese nearby, we can either stop en route or go home and order for delivery."

He said it as a mixture of a statement and a question, leaving it up to Sara to decide.

"I wouldn't mind taking a shower before eating, I feel like I have bugs all over me, my own fault for not leaving stuff in my locker to allow me to shower and change at work."

"We'll head straight home then and order in," said Grissom with a nod.

---

"I'm going to take a shower too," commented Grissom as they entered. "The take-out menu is by the phone when you're ready to choose."

Sara nodded and watched him retreat to his room to shower in his en-suite. She crossed to her room and grabbed a change of clothes before heading for the bathroom, not wanting a repeat of that morning's 'robe' incident.

Having not had time to wash her hair that morning, Sara took her time in the shower, letting the water wash away all traces of the crime scene. She knew it would take a while to dry her hair so, when she emerged from the bathroom, she walked to the phone and perused the take-out menu. There was still no sign of Grissom, so she wrote her order down on the pad by the phone and then went to her room to finish getting ready.

It was another twenty minutes before she reappeared, finding Grissom sitting on the couch watching the news on TV.

"Hey," she said softly as she sat down in a chair.

"Hey. I called in our order, it should be here in… about ten minutes," he said, checking his watch to confirm the delivery time.

"Great, I'm actually getting pretty hungry," she admitted.

"Oh, you appear to have left this by the phone," he said, passing her a twenty dollar bill.

"Yeah, for the food." She didn't make a move to take the money, but Grissom didn't withdraw it either. Rolling her eyes she said, "At least let me pay for my share."

"No, it's on me," he insisted.

"Fine, but I'm paying for the groceries when we go shopping tomorrow, since I'll be eating the food we bu—" she stopped suddenly, becoming all too aware of what she had just said. Stammering, she continued, "I mean… uh… well, that is… I mean, I'm not assuming that I'll still be here tomorrow, I just meant –"

"Sara," he interrupted, "do you know when you can get back into your apartment?"

"Uh, yeah, I talked to my Super today. He said my place will be one of the last to be done, so it'll be another two days before it's fume free. Don't worry though, I'll just check into a motel tomorrow."

"Sara, haven't we been through this already?" he said tiredly. "You're not going to a motel."

"But –"

"You can stay here as long as you need."

"Are you sure?" she asked earnestly. "This is your home, Grissom, you don't want me invading it."

"I made the offer, Sara," he pointed out, a look of something she didn't recognize in his eyes. "I'll expect you to be staying here tonight, tomorrow and the day after, alright?"

"Thanks," she whispered, not trusting her voice.

"You're right though, you can pay for the groceries tomorrow," he grinned, lightening the suddenly charged atmosphere.

---

"I guess I should go to bed," said Sara after they finished clearing away the take-out remnants.

"I thought you said you weren't tired enough to sleep?" queried Grissom with raised eyebrows.

"I'm not, but…"

"Sara, you don't have to make yourself scarce on my account," he said gently. "I'm going to put a video on if you want to watch."

"What's the video?"

"A Discovery documentary on an archaeological dig where they found some new species of fossilized insects."

"Very you, Grissom," she laughed, but sat back down in a chair ready to watch.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked as he popped in the video and set the remote control on the coffee table.

"Sure."

He stood up and crossed to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to peer at its contents. "Anything in particular you'd like?" he called.

"Whatever you're having."

He returned a moment later with two bottles of beer, wordlessly handing one to her before settling himself down on the couch. Picking up the remote, he switched on the vcr and started the tape. "You won't be able to see properly from there," he told her, looking from her chair to the TV.

"Oh, uh, it'll be okay," she said hesitantly.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, taking a sip of his beer. The programme started and they watched in silence, but Sara kept fidgeting, trying to find the right angle to see the screen without the glare from the light affecting the vision. "You okay?" he asked. She nodded, but kept fidgeting. "Sara, would you just come and sit on the couch," he said sternly.

Letting out a sigh, she moved from the chair to the couch, curling her legs under her as she sat at the opposite end from Grissom.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yeah," she admitted grudgingly and he stifled a small smile.

---

Sara stretched and yawned as Grissom turned off the vcr.

"You tired enough to sleep yet?" he smirked. "You seemed to be fighting to keep your eyes open for the last ten minutes."

"What makes you so sure it wasn't just the programme sending me to sleep?" she challenged.

"A programme about bugs sending you to sleep? _Never_," he said mock-wounded.

"I actually think I could sleep now," she confessed, "but I don't want to."

"Sara," he started.

"Not because I'm being my usual self," she continued, effectively silencing his argument, "but because if I go to sleep now, I'll be awake mid-morning tomorrow and I somehow don't think you'll let me go to work that early and it'll also mean I'm tired tomorrow night during shift."

"So, you're admitting that you _do_ actually need to sleep every day, you can't go for two days without sleep," he smiled. "Go to sleep, Sara."

Shaking her head and laughing, she merely said, "Night, Grissom," as she stood up and walked to her room.

A knock on her door disturbed her swirling thoughts a minute or so later. She hadn't yet started undressing, so she called, "Come in."

Grissom's head peeked round the door and he held out a glass of water.

"I thought you might want this," he said quietly.

"Thanks," she smiled.

He fully entered the room and placed the glass on the nightstand. "Anything else you need?" he asked.

"No, I'm good," she replied softly.

"Well, goodnight then. If you're awake before me, just help yourself to whatever you want," he told her as he left the room and pulled the door shut behind him.

---

Sara did waken before Grissom and after showering and dressing he still had not emerged from his bedroom, so she took refuge in her own, unwilling to wander around Grissom's home without him there.

It was another hour before she heard him moving around the kitchen, probably making himself something to eat. She left her room and joined him in the kitchen, greeting him with a soft, "Hey."

"Morning, Sara," he smiled, then noticed that she was already dressed. "When did you get up?"

"I've been ready for about an hour."

"Oh. You didn't eat already?" he queried, knowing his dishwasher was empty.

"No, I uh… I figured I'd wait for you."

"Getting used to me doing the cooking are you, or are you saying I'm a _better_ cook than you?" he grinned.

Sara gave a quiet gasp in surprise. She was seeing a side of Grissom that rarely made an appearance, the playful side. She supposed he had something of a comfort factor, since he was in his own home, his territory, and she was there on his terms, but then, he hadn't actually stated any terms, hadn't laid ground rules; in fact, he had told her to make herself at home.

Snapping herself out of her wondering, she sarcastically replied, "Yeah, sure, heating pizza up and buying take-out puts you right up there with Martha Stewart."

"So you didn't enjoy the gourmet sandwiches I made yesterday?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"_Gourmet_?" she laughed. "They were cheese salad, the same as I made the night before."

"It was gourmet cheese," he defended before joining her in laughter. "Anyway, does this insubordination mean that you don't want me to make you some breakfast?"

"Insubordination? Oh, now you're really pushing it," she smiled. "For a comment like that, I think the least you can do is make me breakfast."

He gave a dramatic sigh and returned to his previous task of whisking eggs. "Scrambled eggs okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Good," he nodded. "Then we can go to the grocery store."

---

"I cannot believe you made me buy meat," complained Sara as they unpacked the groceries.

"Hey, you're the one who insisted on paying. I want some meat, therefore, you had to buy it. I'm not asking you to eat it."

"No, but you're going to cook it in front of me, aren't you?"

"Actually, no," he replied. When she raised her eyebrows questioningly, he explained, "It's for an experiment I'm going to get Greg to perform."

"Greg?"

"Yes, he has to learn sometime."

"You mean that the experiment will be so gross that no-one will else will agree to do it," she stated with a smile.

"You really do have a smart mouth, don't you?" he grumbled.

"I'm just keeping you honest, Grissom," she smirked.

When all the groceries were put away, Sara checked the clock. There were still five hours until they had to leave for work and she mentally debated how she could spend the time.

"So, what do we do until the start of shift? Got any more _fascinating_ programmes I can watch?" she asked dryly.

Grissom turned to face her and pinned her with a look that made her dip her head. "We rest," he replied, walking past her and taking a seat on his couch. He kicked off his shoes and put his feet up onto the coffee table. When she didn't move, he said, "You said it yourself last night, Sara, if we woke up early we'd be tired tonight. Since we did wake up early, I suggest we both get a couple of hours rest."

"And you're going to _rest_ there?" she asked pointedly as she watched him set the alarm on his watch.

"No point in going back to bed, just means you have to change clothes again," he shrugged. "I wouldn't recommend the chair," he told her as she finally decided to take up his suggestion and made to sit in the nearby chair, "it's not the best thing to sleep in and I'm talking from experience."

"Oh, okay," she said quietly, casting her eyes in the direction of her bedroom. Making her decision for her, Grissom tossed a cushion to the other end of the couch, indicating for her to sit down. She dropped down onto the seat, mimicking his action by removing her shoes and propping her feet up on the coffee table. Positioning the cushion behind her neck, she slid down enough so that her head rested at the top of the couch. She turned her head to look at Grissom and found him with his eyes closed. Giving a little sigh, she closed her own eyes and willed herself to sleep.

---

The beeping of Grissom's watch alarm woke them both and they turned to face each other, saying, "Hey" at the same time. Sara sat forward and winced in pain.

"You okay?" asked Grissom gently.

"Yeah, just got a crick in my neck."

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"I'm the one who suggested the couch."

Sara stifled the urge to laugh at his comment, her mind considering many other ways she'd like him to be saying those words. "It'll pass," she said, rubbing her neck. "Hey, I believe it's my turn to cook."

"Feel free," he smiled, remaining on the couch as Sara stood and walked to the kitchen. He stood up himself a few moments later to attend to a call of nature and returned to find Sara standing over the stove. "What are you making?"

"Risotto."

"Doesn't that take a while to cook?" he inquired while glancing at his watch. They still had a while before they needed to leave, but he was feeling hungry.

"Not when you use quick-cook rice and make a faux-risotto," she smiled. He looked at her dubiously. "Trust me, I can cook."

"As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so I'll reserve judgement."

"With comments like that, what makes you so sure you'll _be_ eating?"

---

"Alright then, Judge Grissom, what's the verdict on my cooking?" smiled Sara.

Grissom pushed his plate away and sat back in his chair, resting a hand over his stomach. "I'd give it a 5," he said lightly.

"5 out of what?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

He didn't say anything and ignored her glare as the silence persisted. He could tell she was getting more annoyed by the second and he finally answered, "Five out of five." She beamed with delight at his words and he couldn't help but return the smile. "Don't let it go to your head though, Sara, a good cook can make a variety of dishes, that mark is only for this one."

"You'll just have to sample more of my cooking then, won't you?" she smiled. Realizing how her words could be perceived, she busied herself with clearing away the dishes.

"Yes, I will," said Grissom quietly into her ear as he placed the remaining dishes on the counter. She whipped her head round to face him, but he was already walking to his bedroom.

---

TBC


	3. Part 3

Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

Part 3 of 4

---

"Hey, Sara, enjoy your night off?" asked Nick as she entered the break room.

"Yeah, I guess. What are you doing here so early?" she inquired, surprised to find him there when there was still an hour before shift.

"The DB from last night, I wanted to know if some samples were back from Trace." Sara nodded. "So, what did you do with your night off, get your apartment sorted out?"

"Uh, no," she replied, a feeling of guilt washing over her as Nick mentioned her apartment and his assumption that she had moved back there, "I just watched some TV."

"Anything interesting?"

Grissom had entered the room and headed for the coffee machine, overhearing Sara's reference to TV. His hands stilled as he waited for her answer.

"A Discovery documentary about bugs."

"_Bugs_! Geez, Sara, you really need to find something more exciting to do," exclaimed Nick. He heard a grunt coming from his boss and gave him a sheepish grin. "No offense, Grissom."

"None taken, Nick, but just remember that we don't comment on all the strange documentaries you watch," said Grissom. Sara chuckled and, as he passed her on his way out of the room, he winked; she nearly fell off her seat.

"How come you're here so early anyway, Sara? You don't have anything major going on otherwise you wouldn't have agreed to taking last night off," said Nick.

"You know me, Nick, I can't stay away from the place for too long," she hedged, not willing to admit that Grissom wanted to come in early and she had automatically said she would leave as well, rather than assume that he would allow her to stay in his home without him.

---

"How's the timeline going, results nearly in?" asked Sara from her place in Grissom's office doorway.

He looked up and peered over the rim of his glasses. "All the bugs were fed as per my instructions," his tone showing he was surprised at that. "I should be able to finish it off tonight."

"Mind if I sit in on your final calculations? If I don't have any other cases, of course."

"Of course, Sara. You started this case with me, you should finish it with me," he smiled. "I have tonight's assignments, you can be based in the lab."

"Great. I'll see you in a bit then," she said as she left to go to the break room.

---

They finished the timeline halfway through their shift and Sara had then helped Nick with his DB case while Catherine worked solo on another. An hour after the end of shift, Nick, Warrick and Catherine had all left, leaving only Sara and Grissom. She had nothing left to do and decided to find out if Grissom was ready to leave.

"Hey, how's it going?" she asked as she walked into his office.

"Hey," he replied, briefly glancing up from his paperwork.

"You look busy," she commented.

"Yeah, the problem with being Supervisor; even when it's a slow week, there's always paperwork to do."

"Anything I can help with?"

"No, I'm reviewing evidence for a couple of cases that are due in court next week," he explained. "Thanks for the offer, Sara, but go on home." She didn't say anything and Grissom finally looked up after a few moments, wondering why there was silence; it finally hit him. "Oh, you're waiting for me?" She nodded. "I'm gonna be a while, just go on home."

"Umm…"

"Here, take my keys," he said, retrieving his house keys from his pocket.

"If I take your keys, I'm going to have to stay awake until you get back anyway so I can let you in, so I might as well just wait until you're finished," she pointed out.

"No need, I have a spare key somewhere," he replied, fishing in his desk drawers until he found the key and held it aloft for her to see. "Just don't flip the deadbolt on and it'll be fine."

"You don't mind me being in your home on my own?" she asked hesitantly.

"No," he shrugged. "If you were going to snoop, you'd have done it by now, when I was asleep," he smirked. "Just make sure you actually get some rest, okay? No napping on the couch, you need to get at least five hours."

"I'll try. How long do you think you'll be?"

"Probably a couple of hours, I'll try not to waken you."

"Thanks, Grissom," she said softly. "I'll see you later." He nodded and returned to his paperwork as she left the office.

---

Sara locked the door behind her and dropped the keys by the phone before removing her jacket. She didn't quite know what to do with herself as she really wasn't tired, her pre-shift nap having given her extra energy. However, she knew that if she sat down to watch TV, she would more than likely eventually fall asleep, getting herself into trouble with Grissom.

Instead, she walked towards her bedroom, but stopped just outside the door. Turning around, she found herself looking into Grissom's room. She had caught a glimpse of it the other day, but his door had only been slightly ajar then, now it was fully open. Not feeling brave enough to actually enter the room, she surveyed it from the doorway. The walls were adorned with specimen cases holding insects, much like the living room, but other than a single photo on his dresser that she assumed was of his mother, there was nothing else in the room that was uniquely Grissom. The duvet cover was plain, a light blue color in contrast to the dark blue painted walls, and there were no posters, no pictures, nothing on the walls other than the specimen cases. The only redeeming 'Grissom factor' was that the nightstand was littered with forensic and entomology journals. Sara couldn't read the titles from where she was standing, but she recognized a couple of the covers and figured that only entomologists would be interested in reading a magazine that had a photo of a giant bee on the front page.

She toyed with the idea of entering the room on the pretext of borrowing one of the journals, but she knew she couldn't; entering his bedroom, his inner sanctum, without his invitation was crossing a line that she couldn't undertake. A wave of tiredness suddenly hit her and her eyes fell on the large bed in the center of his room. It looked warm and inviting and, for a moment, she pictured herself curled underneath the covers, her head resting on the pillow that would hold his scent. She literally shook herself to rid her mind of the image before it overtook her. Taking a deep breath, she about-turned and walked into her own bedroom, eventually crawling into bed about ten minutes later.

---

Wearing only her pajamas and Grissom's robe, Sara padded into the living room around four hours after she had fallen asleep. The last thing she expected to find was Grissom asleep on the couch.

"Can dish out orders, but can't follow them," she muttered under her breath as she remembered his instruction that she sleep in a bed, not on the couch. Remembering her attire, she turned to go back to her bedroom, but managed to hit her leg off an end table and let out a squeal of pain.

"Sara?" said a sleepy Grissom as he heard the commotion. His head popped up over the back of the couch and met her sheepish face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she apologized.

"It's okay, I shouldn't be sleeping here anyway."

Sara smiled as she realized he was remembering his earlier words to her, just as she had done.

"When did you get back?" she asked.

Checking his watch, he replied, "About two hours ago." She nodded and then dipped her head as she felt his gaze boring into her. "Given how long it would have taken you to get back here, you can't possibly have had five hours of sleep yet," he said pointedly.

"I tried," she defended.

"Trying is good," he said gently, "but not always good enough."

"I got four hours," she protested.

"You have another hour to go then."

"Grissom."

"I'm going to put your whining down to the fact that you're tired," he teased. "I'm assuming you came through for a glass of water?" She nodded. "Can you get me one while you're there?"

"Sure," she smiled and moved to the kitchen to fetch two glasses of water. When she turned to hand one to him, she found he was no longer there and she walked towards her room. Passing Grissom's room, she found the door now closed and she placed her glass in her room before going back to his and knocking on the door.

"Come in, Sara," called Grissom after a few moments, just as she had been about to knock again.

She opened the door and hesitantly stepped inside. "Your water," she said quietly, motioning with the glass. Grissom was sitting on the edge of his bed, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands.

"Thanks," he smiled tiredly.

He made no move to take the glass from her, so she stepped forward and placed it on his nightstand, moving the journals out of the way and confirming her earlier suspicions about their contents. As she stepped back, she brushed against his knees and he instantly sat upright, dropping his hands to his sides.

"Sorry," she murmured, walking backwards away from him.

"Think you'll be able to get back to sleep?" he asked just as she was about to leave, startling her with the sound of his voice.

"Probably not, but I'll try," she said honestly.

"You need the rest, Sara," he told her. "I know it's been a pretty slow week, but I have a feeling it's the calm before the storm and we're going to be short-handed next week as both Catherine and Warrick are in court."

His casual attitude with her since he'd woken up had made Sara forget about her current clothing, but she was quickly reminded as his eyes flicked over her from head to toe. She followed his gaze down to her feet and she was still looking there when she replied, "Like I said, I'll try, but I'm not promising anything."

"Feel free to put that bug documentary back on if you think it'll help," he grinned.

"But then I'd fall asleep on the couch and I remember a certain someone telling me not to do that," she retorted with her own grin, her attention drawn back to his face.

He was too tired to argue with her and instead just smiled.

"Have a good sleep, Grissom," she said finally as she left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

---

"I've made some sandwiches to take with us for shift and I've prepared dinner, I just need to cook it," announced Sara as Grissom trudged into the living room after his sleep.

"Thanks, how long will it take?"

"About ten minutes."

"Okay," he nodded, dropping into a chair heavily as Sara stood to go to the kitchen. "What are we having?"

"Vegetable stir-fry."

"That sounds too healthy for my liking," he called.

"Deal with it," she replied cheekily. At her tone, he jumped up from the couch and stalked into the kitchen.

"What was that?" he asked from just behind her.

"Um, that was my way of saying that you should look after yourself?" she tried.

"Uh huh," he said, letting her off the hook. "Anything I can do?"

"No, it's all under control."

He nodded and told her he would be in his study checking his email.

---

"Gil, did you finish checking over the evidence for my court case next week?" asked Catherine mid-shift.

He looked up at her, pushing aside his half-eaten sandwich. "Yes, I finished it this morning, everything looks fine."

"Good," she smiled. "What's on the menu?" she inquired, nodding her head towards his sandwich and taking a seat in the visitor's chair.

"Salad," came his slightly morose reply.

"Really?" she said, her interest piqued. She directed her gaze towards the food and studied it closely.

"Is there something wrong with my choice of sandwich filler, Catherine?" he said slowly as she peered at the food.

"Not at all, it's just interesting that you have exactly the same as another member of the team," she replied with a smirk.

Knowing exactly to whom she was referring, and not wanting to get into that conversation, he tried to sidetrack with, "I'm sure salad is a very popular choice."

"Yes, but not with you. You're not exactly known for your healthy eating, Gil."

"Maybe I'm trying to change my ways," he said nonchalantly.

"Do you want to know who else has salad sandwiches tonight?"

"Not really."

"Too bad, because I'm going to tell you anyway."

Grissom glared at her, trying to get her to leave without being ordered, but this was Catherine and she didn't wither, she just smirked at him and leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table.

"Sara," she said, watching him closely for a reaction.

"Well, that's not surprising," remarked Grissom, causing Catherine to raise her eyebrows inquisitively, "Sara is into healthy eating."

"Yes, but as we've already established, you're not, so I'm wondering if this is just a coincidence or…" she trailed off, having baited the hook and now waiting for him to bite; he didn't take the bait. Instead, he picked up his sandwich and resumed eating, blatantly ignoring Catherine's fishing trip. She waited for a minute, but he kept his eyes steadily on his paperwork and she eventually huffed a sigh and left him alone, unaware of the smirk Grissom sent to her retreating back.

---

Although Sara was glad when shift ended, simply because it had been another slow one and she hated not having much to do, she was reluctant to leave the lab; it would be her last day staying at Grissom's, after the next shift she would be going back to her own apartment.

She silently followed him into his home, her thoughts drifting to the first time she'd followed him in, the first night he had let her stay there.

"Hey, Grissom?"

"Yes?" he said as he turned to face her after she closed the door behind them.

"I'm gonna cook dinner for us later, so don't start anything if you're awake before me."

"You cooked yesterday, it's my turn."

"I want to, as a thank you for letting me stay here."

"There's no need, Sara," he smiled.

"I'm going to anyway though, so just be ready for 5pm, okay?"

"If you insist. I'm going to bed, I'll see you later."

"Night, Grissom."

---

TBC


	4. Part 4

Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

Part 4 of 4

---

"Sara?" called Grissom as he wandered around his home at 2pm. Sara's bedroom door was wide open, with the bed sheets stripped and sitting in a pile on top of the mattress, but she wasn't there. She wasn't in the living room or kitchen and, since the bathroom door was also open, he knew she wasn't there either. "Sara?" he called again, finally stopping by the phone and letting his eyes fall on a note.

_Grissom,_

_Just gone out for some supplies. Be back soon._

_Sara_

Crumpling the note up, he tossed it in the trash and walked into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator to confirm his thought that there was already food there and then wondered what Sara had gone to get. After pouring some orange juice for himself, he took a seat on the couch to wait.

It was only ten minutes later when Sara returned, struggling to open the door with one hand while holding a bag of groceries in the other. Grissom rose from the couch and crossed to open the door, immediately taking the bag from her.

"The food you bought the other day not good enough?" he asked with arched eyebrows as she gratefully let him take the bag.

"I wanted to show you what _gourmet_ food is really about," she teased.

"With vegetarian? Not possible," he deadpanned.

"You know better than to assume without checking out all the evidence," she grinned.

"What are we having then?"

Sara swatted his hand away as he started to reach into the bag to unpack the contents. "Is it 5pm?" she queried.

"No," he replied with a confused smirk.

"Then it's not time for you to find out what we're eating."

Scowling at her, Grissom tried to side-step Sara to peer into the bag again, but she pushed him away.

"This is my house you know, Sara," he pointed out.

"Yes, but this is _my_ food until I choose to share it with you. Don't you have something else to do?"

"No," he replied simply, once again trying to reach the bag. Disbelieving of how playful he was being, Sara was just about to tell him what he could do with himself when he was saved by his ringing cellphone. "Grissom," he said into the phone, walking away from Sara to take the call.

Sara worked quickly to store away her newly bought groceries while Grissom was distracted by his call. She was still thinking about his playful attitude and wondering what had brought it on and, more importantly, how long it would last.

"I'm sorry," said Grissom sincerely as he walked back into the kitchen.

"Work?" she asked, unable to remove all traces of disappointment from her tone, though she made a valiant attempt.

"Yes. Ecklie has some questions about the timeline and I need to answer them so that he knows what he's talking about when they talk to the suspect."

"They have a suspect?" she smiled. He nodded and she continued, "Don't worry about it, Grissom, I understand."

"It shouldn't take me too long though, I'll try to be back for 5." Sara started to interrupt, but he stopped her by adding, "How about we put dinner back to 5:30 and I'll make sure I'm definitely home for then?"

"Sure, but don't rush on my account."

"Like you said earlier, I need to taste the evidence to prove my theory that _gourmet_ and _vegetarian_ do not belong in the same sentence," he commented with a teasing smile. "I'll call you if I'm going to be late," he said as he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door, "but I _will_ be home for dinner."

Sara stood in stunned silence and watched the door close behind him. His last words to her had sounded so intimate; not just the words themselves, but his tone of voice and the look on his face. She was under no illusion that things between them were suddenly going to change just because she had been staying with him for a few days, but she was convinced that he had let some of his guard down and was willingly letting her see a different side to him.

---

"Hey," smiled Sara into the phone as she saw Grissom's name appear on her caller ID. "If you're calling to tell me you're going to be late or can't make it at all, don't worry about it, I'll box some up and bring it with me."

"Sara –"

"And don't worry," she continued, ignoring his attempted interruption, "I'll make sure Catherine isn't around when I drop the food off."

"Sara," he said firmly to stop her babbling, "I'm calling to tell you that I'm just leaving now; in fact, I'm walking through the parking lot at the moment."

"Oh."

"I'll be there in twenty, is that okay?"

"No."

"No?" he laughed. "What do you mean _no_?"

"You said to put the meal back to 5:30 and it's not 5:30 yet," she said haughtily.

"So I'm not allowed to come home?"

"No."

"Well, what am I supposed to do, hang around here to kill time? You know if I do that I run the risk of getting caught up in something and then being late for dinner."

"It'll take you twenty minutes to get back here and it's now 4:50, so you only need to take up twenty minutes of time, Grissom," she sighed.

"Alright," he grumbled. "What are we eating again?"

"Nice try," she chuckled. "I'll see you in forty minutes."

---

Grissom let out a growl of frustration as he turned his key in the lock for the second time and felt it turn, yet still couldn't get the door open. Realizing the deadbolt was on, he banged on the door to attract Sara's attention.

"Hi," she smiled as she opened the door to him.

"Hi yourself. Why is the deadbolt on?" he demanded, attempting to push past her. She stood her ground and he nearly crashed into her, but just managed to keep his balance.

"So that you couldn't get in without me letting you."

Sara knew she was taking a risk, but she was silently praying that his earlier good-humor was still there, albeit hidden beneath the stern look on his face.

"You do remember that this is my house, don't you?" he asked seriously, but gave in to a grin as Sara laughed at him.

"Of course, but I didn't want you arriving too early and interrupting my cooking extravaganza."

"An _extravaganza_?" he queried, arching a brow. She finally stepped back to let him into the house and he closed the door behind him. Removing his jacket, he hung it up before walking to the kitchen.

"Don't even think about it," she warned, raising a hand in a 'stop' motion. "It is 5:28, you have two minutes to wash up and then dinner will be served."

Grissom raised an eyebrow at her quizzically, but said nothing. He proceeded to his room and Sara heard the door close softly behind him. At lightning speed, she set the table for their meal and then placed her specially-bought centerpiece in the middle of the table where he could not to fail to notice its presence.

"Can I come out now?" called Grissom and Sara couldn't help laughing as she turned around and saw his head peering round the corner of the hallway, looking at her hopefully.

"Yes, but you're late," she chastised, "it's now 5:31."

"Is that going to be your excuse if the _extravaganza_ doesn't turn out as it should, you're going to blame me for being late?"

"Well, I am _now_," she grinned. "Sit down and get ready to feast," she smiled.

Grissom did as she said and took a seat at the table. The center-piece caught his eye immediately and he looked at Sara curiously. "What's that?" he asked.

"A plant," she deadpanned. He rolled his eyes at her. "It's a thank you gift," she said.

"You got me a _plant_ as a thank you gift?" he queried with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, _you_ got me a plant as an _apology_, so I figured it would do," she grinned. "Anyway, this meal is the real thank you, as I know you'll find it memorable, but the plant is something that can live on past this meal, something that can be nurtured." She stopped talking and dipped her head, slightly embarrassed at what she had just said as she knew a different meaning could be read into the words.

"Did you nurture the plant I gave you?" he asked softly.

"Yes," she nodded and he gave a satisfied smile. "Although," she added, "I don't know if it will have survived the fumes." She hadn't considered the effect of the fumigation on the plant, or on any of her plants and a worried look crossed her features as she thought about the consequences.

"Hey, it's okay," smiled Grissom. "If anything has happened to the plant, I'll just have to buy you a new one."

"Just make sure you don't do it for the same reason as you did last time," she said without thinking. Grissom's smile fell. "I'm sorry," she said hastily, "I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay, Sara. Anyway, where's this food you promised me?" he asked by way of a subject change.

Letting the discussion drop, Sara started serving their meal. She had planned three courses, hence the early meal time, and the starter was homemade tomato and basil soup.

"If you ask me for some crackers to eat with this, I may be forced to kill you," she grinned as she placed a basket of warm bread on the table.

"But saltines are so nice," he smirked.

"And so incredibly bad for your blood pressure," she retorted.

"This looks and smells wonderful, Sara," he said genuinely.

"So, you're admitting vegetarian food can be wonderful, huh?"

"This is only soup," he shrugged, "I'll reserve judgement until the main course. Besides, looks can be deceiving."

Sara shook her head and sighed in mock-exasperation as she took her seat opposite him. They ate in silence, with Sara working hard to suppress a laugh as she watched Grissom devour the soup, obviously enjoying himself.

"Just as well your bowls aren't patterned," commented Sara when Grissom's spoon scraped the empty bowl for the fifth time, "I don't think there would be any left now."

He looked at her and smirked sheepishly. "It was good," he admitted, "and I don't like waste." Sara stood and reached for his bowl to clear it away, but he stopped her. "I'll do it," he said softly, reaching for her bowl and dropping it into his before carrying the bowls and their spoons to his dishwasher.

"Don't even think about it," warned Sara as she followed him and stood in front of the stove before he could sneak a peek at what was cooking. "You only have to wait a few minutes."

"Exactly, so why can't I just see now?"

"Because one of the keys to good food is presentation, so you'll see this when it's been correctly assembled onto the plate, not while it's in its various pots and pans. Go and sit down," she ordered.

Grissom cocked his head at her, raising an eyebrow in challenge, but then thought better of it and walked away with a wry smirk. He could hear Sara moving around, but couldn't quite see what she was doing. Becoming impatient, he busied himself by moving to the living room to turn on his stereo. Quiet classical music soon filled the air and he nodded approval at his actions before resuming his seat at the table. Sara had still not appeared a couple of minutes later and he was just standing up again to see if she needed help when she emerged with a refilled bread basket.

"It'll just be a moment," she told him before walking back to the kitchen. "There you go, enjoy," she smiled as she placed a filled plate in front of him. "Is there a problem?" she asked after he had stared at the food silently for a few moments.

"No, I'm… just wondering what it is."

"Ricotta cheese and spinach wrapped in filo pastry," she supplied, "with a light tomato sauce on the side."

"You _made_ this?" he asked with a manner of slight awe.

She nodded her head and said, "Try it, I think you might like it."

Sara waited for him to start eating before she took a bite of her own food and smiled as he chewed for a long time before swallowing, allowing himself to savor the mixture of flavors.

"It's… very nice," he said eventually when he could no longer withstand the look she was sending him.

"_Very nice_?"

"It's different," he amended.

"Very nice and different. Wow, don't go overboard or anything," she teased sarcastically.

"I'm just having trouble reconciling this food with your cooking abilities."

"You've never really sampled my cooking abilities before, Grissom. The last few days have just been standard fare, I wasn't making much of an effort, but when I set my mind to something, I achieve my goal," she informed him, adding a soft, "usually," at the end, which did not go unnoticed by him.

"You must have spent a lot of time preparing this," he mused quietly, wondering if she had been cooking the whole time he'd been at work.

"Some things are worth the time and effort," she stated, shooting him a coy smile.

Grissom dipped his head and returned his attention to his meal, steadily filling his mouth with another bite as soon as the previous one was finished so that he didn't have to talk. However, his plan backfired as, due to the rate he was eating, he was finished long before Sara. He contemplated just sitting silently, but his eyes inadvertently drifted to Sara and she was beginning to get annoyed.

"Would you quit watching me eat," she said with irritation, but tempering it with a grin.

"Sorry." He tried to divert his eyes, but he was in his own home, so it wasn't as though he had a lot to study or commit to memory. His gaze soon drifted back to Sara and he picked up a piece of bread to give himself something to do. "There seems to be an Italian theme to this meal," he commented eventually, "with the tomato and basil soup and then using ricotta cheese in the main course. Is the dessert Italian as well?"

"Wait and see," she replied, giving nothing away. She took the remaining bite of her food and pushed her plate away. Grissom automatically cleared her plate and she followed him to the kitchen once more. "Dessert is in the fridge, are you ready for it now, or do you want to wait a while for the rest to digest?"

He checked his watch before replying, "Probably best to eat now, it would be just my luck that I'd wait and then get called in to work before I got a chance to eat."

"Okay, go take a seat and I'll bring it in."

"You don't have to serve me, Sara," he said seriously.

"I know, but I want to," she smiled.

A dessert of panacotta followed and they ate in silence once again before Grissom broke it to say, "I thought you wanted me to look after myself, yet you're plying me with a dessert that is essentially all cream?"

Sara blushed as she remembered her comment and then hesitantly met his gaze. Shrugging, she replied, "How many Italian desserts do you know of that are actually healthy?"

"Well, there's –"

"Don't start," she chuckled. "It's easy to make, alright?"

He gave a smug grin and smiled at her as he finished eating. "The meal was wonderful, Sara."

"Gourmet?" she queried.

"I don't know if I would say that," he replied seriously, smirking at her glare, "but I would say it was certainly sumptuous."

"That'll do," she smiled. "Thank you for letting me stay here, Grissom, I know it couldn't have been easy for you," she said seriously.

He knew instantly what she meant, that he had to share his home with her, let her see a part of his life that he strove vehemently to keep private.

"I was glad to help out," he said honestly.

The atmosphere became charged as their eyes locked and Sara cleared her throat before rising, saying, "I'll just put these in the dishwasher and then pack up my car."

"I'll clear up, Sara," he said, taking her plate away from her and absently brushing his hand against hers.

"Thanks," she murmured, walking away.

---

Little had been said between Grissom and Sara as she had put her bag into her car. She had thanked him again for his hospitality, to which he said there was no need, and she had then said she would see him at work.

Grissom had re-entered his house as Sara drove away and he didn't arrive at the lab until about twenty minutes after her. He ensconced himself in his office until the start of shift, only emerging to hand out assignments. There were the usual grumblings about trick-rolls, which he let wash over him and then Catherine complained about being partnered on what sounded like a relatively straight-forward burglary.

"Nothing is ever straight-forward until all the evidence is collected, Catherine," pointed out Grissom, looking at her over the top of his glasses. "Take Sara with you and if something else comes in I'll let you know." As she started to protest again, he added, "Or you can stay here and work on paperwork while Sara works solo, it's your choice."

Sending him a sharp look, Catherine muttered a complaint as she stalked past him and left the room. "Sara, take your own vehicle in case I get called away," she called, not waiting for a reply.

Grissom waited until everyone else started to leave the room and then called Sara back. She turned towards him with a curious look before striding back fully into the room.

"Can you drop by after shift please, Sara? You forgot something at my house."

"Uh, sure," she smiled. "What did I forget?"

Apparently not hearing her question, Grissom gathered his folders and walked away, leaving Sara to stand and watch the spot on the floor he had vacated.

---

"Hey," said Sara from the doorway. Grissom shifted his gaze from his paperwork to her and raised his eyebrows questioningly. "You asked me to drop by after shift," she shrugged, puzzled by his apparent confusion.

"Oh, I meant drop by my house," he said.

"Oh, uh… okay. So, what did I forget?" she asked, repeating her unanswered question from earlier.

He looked up at her again and sighed, "I need to finish this before I can leave. Can you meet me at my house in about forty-five minutes?"

"Sure, I'll see you there," she agreed, realizing he was too engrossed in his work to enter into any discussion of what item she'd left in his house.

---

Grissom answered the door as soon as Sara signaled her presence. "Hey," he greeted, stepping back to let her inside.

"Hey," she smiled, walking into the living room and waiting for him to close the door and join her. She automatically looked around, trying to spot something that belonged to her, but she found nothing. "So, what did I forget?" she asked for the third time in as many hours, fully expecting an answer at last.

Not meeting her gaze, Grissom said, "Nick still doesn't realize that you've been staying here rather than being back in your own apartment?"

"No, and hopefully he never will," she replied. "Thanks for not dropping me in it."

"I'm hardly likely to announce that you've been staying with me, Sara," he stated, his tone edgier than either he or Sara would have liked.

"Yeah," she agreed hesitantly, trying to hide the hurt she was feeling and mentally kicking herself for feeling that way when she knew she shouldn't have expected him to say anything else.

"I'm still surprised he hasn't figured it out though," said Grissom a moment later.

"Maybe he's not as good an investigator as you think," she teased.

"Or maybe we're just good at hiding evidence," he shot back, his eyes twinkling and his mouth curving into a half-smile.

She didn't know how to continue the conversation from there, so opted for a quiet, "Maybe," before asking determinedly, "What did I forget? I thought I packed everything up last night."

Grissom remained silent, but took a few steps towards her, keeping his eyes firmly locked with hers until Sara dropped her gaze.

"You forgot this," he murmured, raising his hands and resting them either side of her face. Sara immediately looked up, finding him staring at her intently. Her eyes meeting his was all the incentive he needed and he slowly, but gently, brought his lips to hers. She let out an involuntary gasp, but didn't pull away and he took advantage of her slightly parted lips to deepen the kiss.

When he finally raised his head and let his hands drop, Sara looked at him with a stunned expression. It took her a moment to regain the power of speech, but she eventually said, "I forgot that, huh?" He shrugged, but couldn't stop the grin forming on his face. "Well, I think we need to make sure I don't forget it again, don't you? I think I need another sample to add to my memory."

He let out a low laugh and his facial expression morphed from a grin into a smile that Sara found devastatingly sexy. "Who am I to refuse?" he said huskily, drawing her to him again.

"What prompted this?" asked Sara when they parted again. "Don't get me wrong," she added as she noticed his worried look, "I'm not complaining, it's just… well, it's kinda come out of the blue." He raised his eyebrows. "I've been staying here for the last few days, why today?" she pressed.

"I realized that this can be kept just between the two of us until we are ready to share it," he replied softly, prompting her to look at him sharply.

"So, you _used_ to think that I would tell someone about it?" she asked with a mixture of hurt and anger.

"No, of course not," he sighed. "I just didn't think it would be possible to keep our private lives private, away from the prying eyes of our co-workers."

"You didn't trust me," she said bluntly.

"No, Sara, I _always_ trusted you," he said adamantly. "I just thought that someone would pick up on it… Catherine, or Nick."

Sara looked at him closely and saw his tone reflected in his eyes; he was telling the truth.

"And because they didn't pick up on the fact that I've been staying here, you figure they won't pick up on the fact that we're… together?"

"They will eventually, I know that and, to be perfectly honest, Sara, I don't want to hide it. I just think we need to give ourselves time to adjust first."

"You're worried about what people will think, what they'll say?" she asked quietly.

Taking her hands and staring into her eyes, he replied, "I don't care what people think or say, Sara, not anymore, as long as you are happy. We are both intensely private people and I think we need to get used to being with each other outside of work before we let anyone know that we're together."

He gave her a look that asked if she was in agreement and she nodded her head. "Yeah, I can understand that. You seem to be jumping to conclusions though and assuming I _want_ to be in a relationship with you," she said pointedly, but with humor lacing her tone. "Where's your evidence?"

Grissom's eyes crinkled with amusement as he squeezed her hands before releasing them. Stepping away from her slightly, he looked her up and down before replying, "I'm still at the evidence gathering stage, but I can provide you with a full report once I'm finished if you wish."

"Well, just ask if you need help conducting any experiments, after all, I am known as a science nerd," she grinned. He stepped towards her again and reached for her, but she evaded his grasp and walked to the door. "It will need to be later though because, right now, I need to go home and check that my apartment is bug free."

"I never thought I would say this," said Grissom, "but I'm actually glad that you had to get some bugs killed, since it got us to this stage." She flashed him a grin and he added, "But, if any of the roaches survived, give me a call, I'll see if I can train them into racers."

"You'll never change, will you?" she sighed, watching as he approached her and then placing a soft hand on his cheek. He shrugged and she smiled at him. "Don't though, I like you just the way you are."

Before he could reply, she had exited his house and left him staring after her in wonderment.

---

The End

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A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews, it's nice to know that people enjoy my fics and it encourages me to write more :-)


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